Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $27.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.46% from the company’s current price.

CARG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CarGurus from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research raised their price objective on CarGurus from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CarGurus from $32.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.59.

CarGurus Price Performance

NASDAQ CARG traded up $1.63 on Friday, hitting $34.99. The company had a trading volume of 608,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,275. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -70.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.55. CarGurus has a 12-month low of $18.59 and a 12-month high of $37.89.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $218.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.85 million. CarGurus had a negative net margin of 5.57% and a positive return on equity of 11.06%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CarGurus will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $795,812.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 449,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,340.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $795,812.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 449,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,340.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 3,107 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.42, for a total transaction of $88,300.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 128,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,664,815.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,794 over the last quarter. 17.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CARG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the third quarter worth about $1,072,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 7,393 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of CarGurus by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus during the third quarter worth $608,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.